The ARRL Letter
Published by the American Radio Relay League
********************************************
January 13, 2011
Editor: S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA
ARRL Home Page ARRL Letter Archive
Audio News
IN THIS ISSUE
- + ARRL in Action: New Amateur Radio Bill Introduced in Congress
- + FCC News: FCC Sends License Renewal for K1MAN to Administrative Law
Judge
- + Public Service: Midwestern Hams Spot, Track Tornados As 2011 Begins
- + On the Air: Aim High in the ARRL January VHF Sweepstakes
- On-the Air: ARRL Outgoing QSL Service Announces New Rate Structure
- + Amateur Radio in the Classroom: ARRL Executive Committee Approves
Grants for Five Schools
- + ARRL Board of Directors to Meet Next Week
- + ARRL Foundation Scholarship Applications and Transcripts Due
February 1
- Solar Update
- + Amateur Radio Fun: Be a Star! Enter the ARRL Video Contest
- Amateur Radio Fun: New QuickStats Poll Now Available on ARRL Website
- Silent Key: Former Western Massachusetts Section Manager Bill
Voedisch, W1UD (SK)
- This Week on the Radio
- Upcoming ARRL Section, State and Division Conventions and Events
+ Available on ARRL Audio News
> + ARRL IN ACTION: NEW AMATEUR RADIO BILL INTRODUCED IN CONGRESS
The Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Enhancement Act, which
died at the end of the 111th Congress, has been reintroduced in the
112th Congress as HR 81
.
The sponsor is Representative Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX-18). The new
bill -- which was introduced on January 5 -- has been referred to the
House Committee on Energy and Commerce. "We are hopeful that this early
start will lead to success in the new Congress," commented ARRL Chief
Executive Officer David Sumner, K1ZZ.
Rep Jackson Lee first introduced the bill -- HR 2160
-- in the 111th Congress in April 2009
.
It gained an additional 41 cosponsors but did not progress out of the
committee of jurisdiction. A similar bill introduced in the Senate -- S
1755
-- made it all the way through that body in December 2009, but likewise
was not taken up by the House. The objective of the bill -- which is
supported by the ARRL -- is for the Secretary of Homeland Security to
study the uses and capabilities of Amateur Radio communications in
emergencies and disaster relief and to identify and make
recommendations regarding impediments to Amateur Radio communications,
such as the effects of private land use regulations on residential
antenna installations.
> + FCC NEWS: FCC SENDS LICENSE RENEWAL FOR K1MAN TO ADMINISTRATIVE
LAW JUDGE
The FCC has issued a Hearing Designation Order
to determine, among other things, if the Amateur Radio license of Glenn
A. Baxter, K1MAN, of Belgrade Lakes, Maine, should be renewed.
According to the Order, "Baxter has apparently willfully and repeatedly
engaged in unlawful Commission-related activities, including causing
interference to ongoing communications of other amateur stations,
transmitting communications in which he had a pecuniary interest,
failing to file requested information pursuant to an Enforcement Bureau
(Bureau) directive, engaging in broadcasting without communicating with
any particular station and failing to exercise control of his station."
Baxter, whose amateur license expired in 2005, filed a timely renewal
on July 22, 2005; his license expired on October 17. Because of the
timely renewal, Baxter's license remained in effect past the expiration
date. The FCC said it "believe[s] that Baxter's apparent continuing
course of misconduct raises a substantial and material question of fact
as to whether he possesses the requisite character qualifications to be
and remain a Commission licensee."
> + PUBLIC SERVICE: MIDWESTERN HAMS SPOT, TRACK TORNADOS AS 2011
BEGINS
In the final hours of 2010, tornados swept across Missouri, Illinois
and Arkansas, leaving at least seven people dead. Hams in Missouri --
one of the hardest hit areas -- activated nets and provided real-time
weather observations to the National Weather Service. According to a
timeline of events in the St Louis Post-Dispatch, hams in the towns of
Pacific, Ballwin and Sunset Hills in Missouri, as well as a ham in
O'Fallon, Illinois, were among the many who spotted and reported
twisters and severe weather to their local NWS offices.
Steve Runnels, KD4OPZ -- the Warning Coordination Meteorologist at the
NWS office in Springfield, Missouri -- said that he was impressed by
"the amount of Amateur Radio support we received during the overnight
and into the early morning hours. This proves that the Amateur Radio
community is always ready. It also shows the strength of their
commitment to the communities they live in and the National Weather
Service's mission to protect life and property." Read more here
.
> + ON THE AIR: AIM HIGH IN THE ARRL JANUARY VHF SWEEPSTAKES
VHF operators will be on the bands in force the weekend of January
22-24 as the ARRL January VHF Sweepstakes hits the airwaves. This
contest gives the VHFer in all of us a chance to do some contesting
during the winter months. According to ARRL Contest Branch Manager Sean
Kutzko, KX9X, January may not seem like the ideal time to hold a VHF+
contest, but sometimes he said, the propagation gods like to surprise
and confound. "There have been plenty of QSOs made via sporadic-E in
the colder months this winter, including a surprise opening from the
Midwest and Western US to Australia and New Zealand just this week!
QSOs on other forms of enhancement exist as well, thanks to
tropospheric ducting and auroral propagation. Because of the advent of
WSJT software, making QSOs via meteor scatter in the wee hours of the
morning on 6 and 2 meters has never been easier. There are plenty of
opportunities to make long-haul QSOs on the VHF+ bands in January."
Read more here
.
> ON-THE AIR: ARRL OUTGOING QSL SERVICE ANNOUNCES NEW RATE STRUCTURE
Effective January 17, 2011, a new pricing structure will go into effect
for the ARRL Outgoing QSL Service. With the new rate structure,
amateurs will no longer need to count outgoing cards and then guess as
to what to pay based upon a half-pound rate; a simple weighing of the
cards is all that is necessary to determine what amount to send to the
Bureau. This new structure also accommodates a small rate increase in
response to recent postage, shipping and handling costs. Read more here
.
> + AMATEUR RADIO IN THE CLASSROOM: ARRL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE APPROVES
GRANTS FOR FIVE SCHOOLS
In December 2010, the ARRL Executive Committee reviewed grant
applications for the ARRL's Education & Technology Program (ETP),
awarding equipment valued at nearly $5000 to five schools. More than
525 schools across the country have received support from the ETP in
the form of grants for equipment, curriculum and resources, as well as
teacher in-service training through the Teachers Institute on Wireless
Technology. Applications for equipment and resource grants are accepted
twice each year; application deadlines are May 1 and November 1.
Applications for 2011 summer sessions of the Teachers Institute are
currently being accepted. Read more here
.
> + ARRL BOARD OF DIRECTORS TO MEET NEXT WEEK
The ARRL Board of Directors will hold its 2011 Annual Meeting on
January 21-22 in Windsor, Connecticut. Directors, Vice Directors and
ARRL Board Officers will be in attendance, including two new Vice
Directors who will be at their first Board meeting: Southeastern
Division Vice Director Andrea Hartlage, KG4IUM, and West Gulf Division
Vice Director John Robert Stratton, N5AUS. The Board will also welcome
IARU Secretary Rod Stafford, W6ROD, and Radio Amateurs of Canada
President Geoff Bawden, VE4BAW. The meeting will be preceded on
Thursday, January 20 with meetings of the Board's Administration and
Finance Committee and the Programs and Services Committee. At its
January 2010 meeting, the ARRL Board of Directors decided to make the
agendas of Board and Executive Committee meetings available on the ARRL
website. The agenda for the 2011 Annual Meeting is available here
. Per the Articles of
Association the ARRL
Board of Directors meets twice a year, in January and July.
> + ARRL FOUNDATION SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATIONS AND TRANSCRIPTS DUE
FEBRUARY 1
Students planning to apply for the more than 60 scholarships
administered by the ARRL Foundation should be aware that the deadline
is fast approaching. All materials -- including transcripts -- are due
February 1. Beginning this year, applicants must submit all material
electronically. No paper forms will be accepted. Read more here
.
> SOLAR UPDATE
Tad "I'm melting in the Sun
" Cook, K7RA, reports: The
average daily sunspot numbers declined 12 points to 38 during the week
of January 6-12. The average daily solar flux declined by nearly 6
points to 83.8. The latest forecast shows solar flux at 80 on January
13-15, 78 on January 16-19 and back to 80 on January 20-35, then rising
to nearly 90 by the end of the month. The same forecast has planetary A
index for January 13-22 at 5, 8, 7, 5, 5, 5, 5, 7, 7 and 5. Geophysical
Institute Prague sees unsettled geomagnetic conditions on January
14-15, quiet to unsettled January 16, unsettled January 17-18, quiet to
unsettled January 19 and quiet on January 20. The STEREO mission's
coverage of the entire Sun is nearly
complete, with continuous images showing more than 99.2 percent of our
nearest star. By Sunday evening in North America, the project will have
passed 99.34 percent coverage. The black band of unseen area is now
just a tiny sliver, and magnetically active areas over the entire Sun
may now be observed live from any place with an Internet connection at
any time of the day or night. Look for more information on the ARRL
website on Friday, January 14. For more information concerning radio
propagation, visit the ARRL Technical Information Service Propagation
page . This week's "Tad
Cookism" is brought to you by INXS '
Melting in the Sun .
> + AMATEUR RADIO FUN: BE A STAR! ENTER THE ARRL VIDEO CONTEST
If you've ever wanted a way to show the world how exciting Amateur
Radio can be, here's your chance: The ARRL is sponsoring its first-ever
video contest ! We are looking for
ARRL members to shoot and submit videos that showcase how fun and
electrifying our hobby is; extra points will be awarded for a video
showing someone, young or old, licensed or not, making their first
contact. Videos will be judged on overall quality and composition, and
prizes will be awarded. The video author/producer must be an ARRL
member; however, the people who appear in your video can be
non-members. This contest is intended for amateur videographers. If you
are a professional, please do not apply. Check out all the details --
including the fine print -- on the ARRL Video Contest Rules and
Guidelines web page .
> AMATEUR RADIO FUN: NEW QUICKSTATS POLL NOW AVAILABLE ON ARRL
WEBSITE
Four new poll questions have just been published on the QuickStats page
on the ARRL website. Let your voice be
heard!
Questions in this month's QuickStats poll include:
- Do you use a computer to send or receive CW?
- Do you subscribe to any publications that you read online?
- Do you have a separate room in your home that's dedicated strictly to
your ham station?
- When operating SSB, do you use a speech processor?
Visit the QuickStats page and be sure
to bookmark it in your browser. Results from this QuickStats poll will
be published in the April 2011 issue of QST on the QuickStats page,
located in the rear advertising section of the magazine. Along with
monthly poll results, QST QuickStats offers colorful charts and graphs
that highlight interesting Amateur Radio statistics.
> SILENT KEY: FORMER WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS SECTION MANAGER BILL
VOEDISCH, W1UD (SK)
William Voedisch, W1UD, of Leominster, Massachusetts, became a Silent
Key on January 1. He was 78. Voedisch was an avid CW operator who
especially enjoyed operating in the CW National Traffic System nets. In
recent years, he was the Manager of the NTS First Region CW net and
almost nightly represented the First Region in the Eastern Area Net. He
was also active in the Transcontinental Corps, relaying messages to
other regional nets around the country. Read more here
.
> THIS WEEK ON THE RADIO
This week:
- January 14 -- NCCC Sprint Ladder
- January 15 -- LZ Open Contest, Feld Hell Sprint
- January 15-16 -- North American QSO Party (SSB), Hungarian DX
Contest, UK DX Contest (RTTY)
- January 17 -- Run for the Bacon QRP Contest
- January 20 -- NAQCC Straight Key/Bug Sprint
Next week:
- January 21 -- NCCC Sprint Ladder
- January 22-23 -- BARTG RTTY Sprint
- January 22-24 -- ARRL January VHF Sweepstakes
- January 26 -- SKCC Sprint
- January 27 -- NAQCC Straight Key/Bug Sprint
All dates, unless otherwise stated, are UTC. See the ARRL Contest
Branch page , the ARRL Contest Update
and the WA7BNM Contest
Calendar for more
info. Looking for a Special Event station? Be sure to check out the
ARRL Special Event Stations Web page
.
> UPCOMING ARRL SECTION, STATE AND DIVISION CONVENTIONS AND EVENTS
- January 15, 2011 -- ARRL Southern Florida Section Convention
, Fort Myers, Florida
- January 28-29, 2011 -- ARRL Mississippi State Convention
, Jackson, Mississippi
To find a convention or hamfest near you, click here
.
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